Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Bruker by 120.4% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 139.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 361 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bruker by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Bruker during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 81.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Barclays started coverage on Bruker in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Bruker from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Bruker in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.82.

Bruker Stock Performance

Bruker stock opened at $62.45 on Friday. Bruker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.79 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86. The company has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Bruker had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 11.29%. The business had revenue of $800.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $799.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.27%.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.